Break of Day (25 page)

A
fter leaving the surf school, I wasn't sure where to go. I drove around for a while, not wanting to go home to an empty house and be alone with my tormented thoughts. But where else could I go? Not Asher's place, that was for sure. And my mother was still at Safe Harbor. In the end, I decided to head to News 9. I had work to do, after all. I needed to put together a resume reel of my work. Just in case I was soon out of a job.

I didn't have much to put on tape. I had barely been in the weather center for a month. But I had to come up with something. Asher might claim I couldn't be fired, but he didn't live in the real world. Sure, they wouldn't fire me for what he did on stage—not directly, of course. Like Asher said, if they did that I could easily sue. But I wasn't stupid. It wouldn't be hard for them to find some other excuse. Some other reason I wasn't right for the job—for the station. And then it would be, “See you later, Piper. Don't let the door of opportunity hit you on the way out.”

And in the end, I could only blame myself. I'd known from the start it was a bad idea. That I was putting everything I'd
worked for at risk for some stupid relationship that had no guarantees. Well, at least for me. Asher would never get fired. He would never suffer the consequences of his actions. He could be a total idiot on TV and it was no big deal in the long run.

The worst part was, he didn't even get it. He actually thought he was doing some noble thing, standing up for me. Which proved, once and for all, how little he understood the real world. People like me didn't get to be noble. We didn't get to make stands. We kept our heads down; we worked hard. We appreciated what we accomplished and we didn't care about the fame and glory. As long as we got our paycheck at the end of the week.

But Asher wouldn't understand that. How could he?

I slumped onto my desk, too distraught to even pull up the list of stories I wanted to compile for the tape. Looking around the empty weather center, my heart panged in my chest. The worst part was I still had feelings for Asher. I still loved him—even after he'd blown up my career. It was going to take me a long time to get past this.

But I would. I would rise again. As I had in the past and would in the future. I would refocus and start fresh and this time I wouldn't let my personal weakness for a charming smile screw things up for me. I'd gotten into TV news to make a difference, after all. And I could still make that difference—if I stayed focused this time.

“Piper. Good. There you are.”

I looked up, my eyes widening as a lone figure slipped into the weather center. She took a step forward into the light and I almost gasped as I realized who it was.

Asher's mother.

She was dressed as she had been for the press conference—in a smart, probably custom-fitted suit, a string of pearls around her throat. She was beautiful for her age—though rumor had it she'd had a bit of work done—and she was always so polished and poised. But there was also a hardness deep in her eyes. The fierceness of a woman who had taken life by the throat and strangled it to her will.

I sat up in my seat, trying to square my shoulders. If I
was to be fired, I wanted to at least retain some dignity. No matter what, I couldn't let her see me cry.

“We need to talk,” she said, sitting down in a nearby chair and peering at me with those piercing gray eyes.

I sighed. “Look, I didn't tell Asher to do that. I actually told him he needed to play nice with Sarah and her father. That I didn't need any credit.”

“I know,” she said, surprising me. “Or—at least that's what I assumed. You strike me as a very sensible girl, Piper. My son, on the other hand . . .” She shook her head slowly. “He grew up in a very different world. Partially my fault, I'm afraid. He never had the chance to fail at anything. So he never learned how to try.”

“No,” I blurted out before I could stop myself. Even as mad at Asher as I was, I couldn't let her just dismiss him like that. “He
has
been trying. He created the surf school from nothing. He's been working day and night to make it succeed.” I gave her a beseeching look. My job might be over, after all, but I could still fight for the school—for the kids. “Please don't pull his funding because of me. It'll crush those poor kids. They need something like this.”

“I'm not a monster, Piper,” his mother said sternly. “No matter what my son has implied to you. I'm simply a businesswoman, trying to balance a very precarious ecosystem here at News 9. We need advertisers—especially political advertisers—to keep this station afloat. To allow us to do these kinds of good things for unfortunate people. My job is to solicit these advertisers by any means necessary. When I see an opportunity, I take it. But you know all about
that
, don't you, Miss Strong?”

She arched a questioning eyebrow and I could feel my face heat. “I—” I started, but she waved me off.

“You don't have to be embarrassed,” she said. “If anything you should be proud of yourself. You saw an opportunity to rise in your career and you grabbed hold of it. I would have done the same thing in your position.”

I hung my head. Her approval was almost worse than her criticism.

“My dear girl, don't you see? We're all on the same side here. I'm looking out for my family—and News 9. You're looking out for your career. And . . . your mother, too, right? I understand she's in some kind of rehabilitation program?” She gave me a pointed look and I stiffened. Oh God. She knew about my mother? Did she know Asher was funding my mother, too?

I thought back to what Asher had told me—about how money always came with strings attached. I had no idea, at the time, just how tightly they were all woven together.

Asher's mother gave me a fond look. “You know,” she said, “I look at you and I see myself. Someone who's driven, who wants to go the distance. But we both have to accept help once in a while to get the job done. I need help from people like Champ Martin. And you need help from people like me.” She paused, catching the look on my face. “Oh, come on. It's not something to be ashamed of. If someone wants to help you, why shouldn't you use that to get what you want?”

She paused and I waited. Clearly this was leading up to something and I wanted to just get it over with. “So what do you want to help me with?” I managed to spit out.

She gave me a smug smile. “Did I mention I like you?” she asked. “Straight to the point. Most people are too fond of bullshitting around first.” She nodded. “You are correct. I have a proposal for you, Piper.”

“I'm listening . . .”

“When you first interviewed here, you spoke of wanting to be an investigative producer—at least that's what I read in your files. Is this still the case?”

“Y-yes . . .”

“Well, I've heard through the grapevine that the Santa Barbara ABC affiliate is looking to hire an associate producer for their investigative unit. Would that be along the lines of what you're looking for?”

I stared at her, shocked. That was so not what I was expecting her to say. At all.

“I admit it's not the most glamorous job in the world,” she added before I could reply. “From what I understand much
of it will just be answering phones and emails from people reporting scams and rip-offs.” She shrugged. “But it would be a foot in the door—and more along the lines of what you're looking for long term, correct?”

I swallowed hard. I didn't know what to say. It sounded like the perfect job. And yet . . .

“I don't . . . want any more favors,” I managed to spit out. After all, that was what had gotten me in trouble in the first place.

“I wasn't offering one,” she returned. “I can't give you the job, Piper. I can only give you a recommendation—as I would give any potential employee who was looking to move on. You'd still have to apply and interview and convince them you're the right person for the job.” She smiled. “I can open the door, Piper. But you'd still have to walk through it.”

I gave her a skeptical look. “And what do you want, in exchange for opening that door?”

Her smile twisted. “Come on, Piper. You take this job and everyone wins. Asher gets to keep his surf school. Those sweet kids get to experience something amazing and your mother gets to stay in rehab. I get to keep my advertisers happy and you . . . well, you get a second chance to prove yourself. A
real
chance this time.”

I swallowed hard, my mind racing. “I need to think about it,” I said at last, realizing she was waiting for some kind of answer.

She nodded. “Of course,” she said. “Think it over. I'm sure once you do, you'll see this is for the best . . . for everyone involved.”

A
nd to finish up—do we ever, ever go into the water alone?”

“No!”

“What do we do instead?”

“Use the buddy system!”

“All right!” I cried, walking down the line of kids and high-fiving each one of them. “You guys get an A plus today. Tomorrow we're actually going to get in the water!”

The kids broke out into cheers. I grinned. “Okay. Bring it in.” I put my fist out. They circled around me, adding theirs to the pile. “On the count of three—go Team Surf! One . . . two . . . three!”

“Go Team Surf!” they cheered, raising their hands.

“All right!” I slapped Ramon on the back. “Now hurry up and put your boards back. The bus driver is going to kill me if I get you back late.”

They all moaned, but did as I said, working to put their boards back into the lockers before shuffling out the door and toward the waiting bus. I watched them go, not able to help a small smile on my face. I had to admit, I'd been a
little nervous about the first lesson and how my new pupils would respond. But, it turned out, I had no reason to worry. They had listened, they had been engaged, they were raring to go. Tomorrow was going to be epic.

“Hey, Mr. Asher?”

I turned to see Jayden had left the pack on its way to the bus to approach me alone. “Yeah?” I asked with a grin. I had made him my honorary partner—since he'd already gotten a few lessons on his own—and he'd been relishing the role, to say the least.

He looked up at me now, his eyes wide and shining. “Thank you,” he said. “For doing this, I mean. We were all talking about how awesome it was last night.” He shrugged. “No one's ever done anything like this for us before.”

“Yeah, well that's their loss,” I told him. “You guys are going to be the best surfers ever. And I'll get to take all the credit.” I ruffled his hair. “Now go—get your butt on the bus before you get me in trouble!”

I shooed him out the door, my insides dancing. I watched him climb onto the bus and sit down with his friends. Piper had told me that Jayden had had a tough time making friends at the Holloway House. But now that he'd been instated as my right hand man, he was suddenly quite popular.

“You're really good with them.”

I whirled around to see Piper, standing in the back doorway. How long had she been watching? I felt my face heat, and I gave her a shrug. “Thanks,” I said. “They're good kids.”

“Not to everyone, trust me,” she said with a laugh. “You must have the magic touch.”

I looked at her, my mood suddenly deflating. “I wish I did,” I said sadly.

She sighed, walking over and sitting down on the bench. Leaning over, she scrubbed her face with her hands. “Look,” she started. “I'm sorry about what I said at the press conference. I know you thought what you did was for my benefit. And I appreciate that—I really do.” She gave me a regretful face. “It's just—another reminder of how complicated things are.”

“No,” I said. “I'm the one who should be sorry. I know I
should have just kept quiet. But how could I? I love you, Piper. And I wanted everyone to know it. Is that so wrong?”

“No. It's not wrong.” She stubbed the floor with her toe. “But it's not realistic, either. Our whole relationship, I mean. When I agreed to do this, it was under the promise of it not affecting my job. But now I see how impossible that is. Nothing we do is in a vacuum. It's going to affect us—and the people we love.”

I raked a hand through my hair, frustrated. Mostly because I knew she was right. But what was the alternative? Dating in secret? I couldn't bear to disrespect Piper like that. She wasn't a dirty secret. She was the one thing I'd actually done right in my sorry life.

“I love you, Asher,” she continued before I could speak. “But I also live in the real world. This is not just about my job, either—if it was, maybe I'd be willing to take the risk. But too many people are depending on us now. If we keep going down this road, your mother will find a way to close down the surf school. And those kids—the ones who are counting on you—they'll be the ones to pay the price.”

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to reset my sanity. “I can raise the money,” I protested. “Get grants, whatever. Like we talked about. Whatever it takes!”

“And what if she targets your father instead?” she asked. “Are you willing to let him pay the price as well?”

I fell silent, my heart wrenching in my chest. I thought of my father. Of my mother making good on her threats and telling him the truth. It would kill him. And any relationship the two of us might have left would be over forever.

“Asher, there's a job opening in Santa Barbara,” Piper said quietly. “For an associate producer in the investigative unit. Pretty much the job I've been waiting for my entire life.” She paused, then added, “I think I'm going to apply for it.”

I stared at her, her words hitting me with the force of a punch to the face. I had expected her to break up with me. But leave altogether? To another city? To another life? Leaving me behind? I swallowed heavily, my whole body feeling like lead. For once in my life, I had absolutely nothing to say.

Except I did have something to say. I had everything to say. A million reasons whirling through my head for why she shouldn't take the job. Why she shouldn't give up on me—on us. That we were worth fighting for. That I would do whatever it took to keep her safe and that I would never stand in the way of her career.

Except I already had.
I
was the reason she felt the need to leave.
I
was the problem. She'd worked so hard, for so many years, to get to where she was. And I hadn't respected that enough. In my effort to protect her, I'd thrown her to the wolves. And now she was forced to pack up and leave because of me.

Part of me wanted to be angry. To yell at her and accuse her of choosing her career over me. But why shouldn't she do that? What did I have to offer that was worth staying for? She'd asked me for one thing—and I hadn't respected her enough to give it to her. Like everything else in my life, I'd turned it into a punch line.

I didn't deserve her. But I did love her. And because of that, I had no choice but to let her go.

“I understand,” I said, my heart smashing into a thousand pieces in my chest. “It sounds like a great job. I think you should go for it—if it's what you want.”

Her shoulders sagged. She looked so sad, and for a brief moment I thought maybe she'd change her mind. That she'd tell me she was just kidding—that she'd never leave me. That she and I belonged together forever.

But of course I was the Joker, not her.

“It's what I want,” she said at last.

And like it or not, I knew I couldn't stand in her way.